Huawei Marine starts work on Nigeria-Cameroon cable

Investment for NCSCS is being provided by Cameroon’s government, making it the country’s first wholly-owned submarine cable. It will directly link Kribi in Cameroon with Lagos in Nigeria, delivering 12.8 Tbps of capacity to broadband users in both countries by the end of 2015.

Presiding over the installation ceremony, Jean-Pierre Biyiti bi Essam, Cameroon’s minister of posts and telecommunications, said, “The government of Cameroon has embarked on putting in place the necessary facilities to boost the demand and supply of services in quality, in quantity and at affordable prices, as well as to increase telecommunications universal access and universal service.”

The NCSCS system forms part of Cameroon’s broader strategic plan for building a national broadband network. The implementation of this submarine cable system will significantly enhance the development of electronic services such as e-government, e-trade, e-education and e-health programmes and provide a boost to the economic and commercial development of the country.

David Nkoto Emane, general manager of Cameroon Telecommunications Corporation, added, “The NCSCS system will provide new opportunities and further the development of our network in both domestic and international markets. It enables us to provide users with faster bandwidth connectivity at a significantly lower cost. By providing direct connection to Nigeria, the cable system will also serve to enhance Cameroon’s position as the major bandwidth hub in the region and internationally to Europe and beyond.”

Huawei Marine is incorporating titanium-cased six-fibre pair repeater and its second generation RPT 1660 in the NCSCS. The slim titanium casing supports enhanced burial capability through simultaneous lay and burial beneath the seabed, which reduces both marine installation costs and associated system risk.

Mike Constable, CEO of Huawei Marine, said, “We are proud to have achieved this important milestone and excited to be entering into the marine installation phase of this landmark project that will bring all-important connectivity to Cameroon and the region.”